5 Shows To Stream If You're Sick Of Valentine's Day Mush

Here’s a list of shows you can binge without dozing off or feeling mopey.

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If you belong to the rare, precious species of humans watching Netflix who fast forwarded bits of All The Boys I Loved Before because relentless mush is bad for your digestion, Valentine’s Day must be a bit of a nightmare. Not because you don’t like romances, but prolonged exposure to romantic silences, heartbreak-ey songs, shots of beautiful people staring at nothing in particular or writing angsty letters can put you to sleep. It’s no fun if you’ve just propped the pillows, heaped packets of chips on one corner of the bed, decided what pizza to order in another hour or two and then, just dozed off in half an hour, right? You’d rather get stood up on a date than waste your precious, hard-earned TV time sleeping.

So, if you’re spending Valentine’s Day at home and can’t bear the algorithm of streaming platforms bombarding you with rom-coms and stuff, here’s a list of shows you can binge without dozing off or feeling mopey. And if these don’t work for you, google ‘Melissa McCarthy filmography’, ‘top 10 food shows’ or just ‘best horror movies of all time’.

Some of the shows on this list won’t make for great intellectual satisfaction, but should be able to help you easily work through the stock of chips, pizza and the left-over chocolate cake in your fridge.

DROP DEAD DIVA

Screenshot from YouTube.

Since we’re not promising to change your life and show you the meaning of true love and that sort of things, let’s start with Drop Dead Diva. The show, all six seasons of which are available on Netflix, is campy, funny and also has just the right dose of suspense. If you’ve ever imagined what if there was a show that’s a cross between Gossip Girl, Suits and The Good Place — you’re not crazy, you just strive to be entertained thoroughly — Drop Dead Diva is kind of your answer. The story revolves around a model Deb Dobkins, who dies in an accident, goes to heaven, doesn’t like the vibe of it and her spirit escapes back into earth and straight into the body nerdy, plus-sized lawyer Jane Bingum. The shows in the format of a rom-com, but each episode has a legal case thrown in, therefore punctuating all its gossip girliness with just the right amount of suspense and thrill. However, a fair warning: Drop Dead Diva also tries to make the right noise about body positivity, but occasionally, falters.

BROOKLYN 99

Brooklyn 99 is the show version of a pizza and fries dinner. Uncomplicated, easy and never lets you down. Apart from the fact that it’ll make your laugh till you cry, it’s really sweet. And it’s romantic tracks are the cutest, wackiest and the most fun ever. There’s the odd couple, there’s the staid couple, there’s the cute couple and all their romance is served in small bursts between cop-drama and police chases.

LUCIFER

To quote the Socrates of the Bollywood universe, Sholay’s Veeru, Lucifer covers all the bases of an entertaining show — ‘Is story mein emotion hai, drama hai, tragedy hai.’ The story follows Lucifer or Satan as we know from theology, after he quit his job as the gatekeeper of hell, landed in Los Angeles and opened a fancy night club. Move over Instagram influencers, this is the ‘follow-your-dream’ story we need. Lucifer meets a cop Chloe — sparks fly and stuff — and they both team up and start hunt murderers down. Meanwhile, Lucifer’s family — you know God and his folks — is trying to get him back to hell. So there you go, star crossed lovers, murder mysteries and some family drama, all thrown into one, campy, cheesy, good looking package on Netflix.

MOM

You should never have to be convinced to watch anything that has both Allison Janney and Anna Farris, but let’s still build a case for Mom that streams on Amazon Prime. The series follows the lives of Christy (Anna Farris) and her mother Bonnie (played by Allison Janney), who are both recovering alcoholics trying to keep jobs, figure out their love and sex lives and be there for each other. Mom is the kind of girl-bonding you dig in your 30s because Gossip Girls just makes you feel old (and also make you want to shop, which isn’t ultimately a good idea). The show’s funny yet empathetic, there’s romance but just the best way — with rip roaring, sarcastic humour — and is basically about a group of women bungling together. What’s not to love?